Terms Of Use
TERMS OF USE FOR GMO ANSWERS (Effective as of May 2013) IMPORTANT – THIS IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU (a "User" or "you") AND COUNCIL FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY INFORMATION (“CBI” or “we”). BEFORE AND WHEN ACCESSING OR USING THE GMO ANSWERS WEB SITE, YOU SHOULD READ CAREFULLY THESE TERMS OF USE (the “Terms”) AS THEY GOVERN YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE GMO ANSWERS SITE AND ITS APPLICATIONS, MATERIALS, AND INFORMATION (the “Site”). CBI IS WILLING TO ALLOW USE OF THE SITE TO YOU ONLY ON THE CONDITION THAT YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CONTAINED IN THESE TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE TERMS, YOU ARE NOT GRANTED PERMISSION TO ACCESS OR OTHERWISE USE THE SITE AND ARE INSTRUCTED TO EXIT THE SITE IMMEDIATELY.
1. LICENSE GRANT.
These Terms provide to you a personal, revocable, limited, non-exclusive, and non-transferable license to use the Site conditioned on your continued compliance with these Terms. [{optional}You may print and download materials and information from the Site solely for your personal use, provided that all hard copies contain all copyright and other applicable notices contained in such materials and information.] Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may not directly or indirectly (including through automated or spidering programs or devices) monitor, modify, translate, decompile, create derivative work(s) of, copy, distribute, disassemble, broadcast, transmit, publish, remove or alter any proprietary notices or labels, license, sublicense, transfer, sell, mirror, frame, exploit, rent, lease, private label, grant a security interest in, or otherwise use in any manner not expressly permitted herein the Site.
2. USER OBLIGATIONS.
By accessing or using the Site, you represent that you are at least the legal age of majority and will, at all times, provide true, accurate, current, and complete information when submitting information or materials on the Site, including, without limitation, when you provide information via a Site registration or submission form. In addition, you agree to abide by all applicable local, state, national, and international laws and regulations with respect to your use of the Site.
3. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS.
These Terms provides only a limited license to access and use the Site. Accordingly, you expressly acknowledge and agree that CBI transfers no ownership or intellectual property interest or title in and to the Site to you or anyone else. All text, graphics, User interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, sounds, artwork, computer code (including html code), programs, software, products, information, and documentation as well as the design, structure, selection, coordination, expression, "look and feel," and arrangement of any content contained on or available through the Site, unless otherwise indicated, are owned, controlled, and licensed by CBI and its licensors and are protected by law including, but not limited to, United States copyright, trade secret, patent, and trademark law, as well as other state, national, and international laws and regulations. The Site is Copyright © 2013 Council for Biotechnology Information and/or its licensors. All rights reserved. CBI also owns a copyright in the contents of the Site as collective work and/or compilation and in the selection, coordination, arrangement, and enhancement of the content of the Site. CBI, COUNCIL FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY INFORMATION, the CBI logo, and all other names, logos, and icons identifying CBI and its programs, products, and services are proprietary trademarks of CBI, and any use of such marks, including, without limitation, as domain names, without the express written permission of CBI is strictly prohibited. Other product and company names mentioned on the Site may be the trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners.
4. PRIVACY POLICY.
You understand, acknowledge, and agree that access to certain information and/or with respect to the operation of certain portions of the Site may require or involve the submission, use, and dissemination of various personally identifiable information. Accordingly, if you wish to access and use those areas of the Site, you acknowledge and agree that your use of the Site will constitute acceptance of CBI’s personal identifying information collection and use practices. Please see CBI’s Privacy Policy for a summary of CBI’s personal identifying information collection and use practices.
5. LINKS TO OTHER SITES.
CBI may provide links, in its sole discretion, to other sites or on-line social media pages for your convenience in locating or accessing related information, products, and services. These sites or pages have not necessarily been reviewed by CBI and are maintained by third parties over which CBI exercises no control. Accordingly, CBI expressly disclaims any responsibility for the content, the materials, the accuracy of the information, and/or the quality of the products or services provided by, available through, or advertised on these third party Web sites. Moreover, these links do not imply an endorsement with respect to any third party or any Web site or the products or services provided by any third party.
6. POSTINGS.
The Site may contain question and answer forums, message boards, comment areas, questionnaires, and other interactive features where Users can share and post information or content. To the extent that the Site contains such communication forums (collectively, “Forums”), you agree that by using the Site you will not post or transmit any of the following materials on the Site’s Forums: • anything that interferes with or disrupts the Site or the operation thereof, • statements or material that defames, harasses, abuses, stalks, threatens, intimidates, or in any way infringes on the rights of others, • unauthorized copyrighted materials or any other material that infringes on the intellectual property rights, trade secrets, or privacy of others, • statements or material that encourages criminal conduct or that would give rise to civil liability or otherwise violates any law or regulation in any jurisdiction, • statements or material that contains vulgar, obscene, profane, or otherwise objectionable language or images that typically would not be considered socially or professionally responsible or appropriate in person, • statements or material that impersonates any other person or entity, whether actual or fictitious, including, without limitation, employees and representatives of CBI, • statements or material that misrepresents your affiliation with any entity and/or CBI, • statements or material that constitutes junk mail, spam, or unauthorized advertising or promotional materials, and • statements or material that are “off-topic” for a designated Forum.
7. PERMISSION TO USE POSTINGS.
By submitting content or information of any type (a "Posting") to a Forum or other portion of the Site or by otherwise using the Site to transmit or display a Posting, you automatically grant CBI a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, transmit, perform, and display such content or information (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate into other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in such content or information. You represent that you have all necessary rights to make the Posting available to CBI and a Forum, and you also acknowledge that such Postings are non-confidential for all purposes and that CBI has no control over the extent to which any idea or information may be used by any party or person once it is posted or displayed. Accordingly, notwithstanding this right and license, it is understood that by merely permitting your information, content, and materials to appear on the Site, CBI has not become and is not a publisher of such information, content, and materials and is merely functioning as an intermediary to enable you to provide and display a Posting. Moreover, CBI assumes no responsibility for the deletion of or failure to store any Posting and recommends that you do not post, display, or transmit any confidential or sensitive information.
8. DISCLAIMER.
THE SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS-IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS AND MAY INCLUDE ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR OTHER INACCURACIES. YOU ASSUME THE SOLE RISK OF MAKING USE OF AND/OR RELYING ON THE INFORMATION, SERVICES, PROGRAMS, PRODUCTS, SOFTWARE, AND MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON THE SITE. CBI MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE AVAILABILITY, SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, LEGALITY, OR ACCURACY OF THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OR ANY OTHER IMPLIED WARRANTY UNDER THE UNIFORM COMPUTER INFORMATION TRANSACTIONS ACT AS ENACTED BY ANY STATE.
9. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.
You expressly absolve and release CBI from any claim of harm resulting from a cause beyond CBI’s control. MOREOVER, IN NO EVENT SHALL CBI OR ITS LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OF THE SITE OR WITH THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, TOTAL LIABILITY OF CBI FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER RELATED TO USE OF THE SITE SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($1,000).
10. ENFORCEMENT.
You acknowledge that any breach, threatened or actual, of these Terms will cause irreparable injury to CBI, such injury would not be quantifiable in monetary damages, and CBI would not have an adequate remedy at law. You therefore agree that CBI shall be entitled, in addition to other available remedies, to seek and be awarded an injunction or other appropriate equitable relief from a court of competent jurisdiction restraining any breach, threatened or actual, of your obligations under any provision of these Terms.
11. TERM AND TERMINATION.
These Terms will take effect at the time you click “I ACCEPT”, register with, respond to a request for information or materials through, and/or begin accessing or using the Site, whichever is earliest. CBI reserves the right at any time, which shall include, without limitation, on any reasonable belief of fraud, illegal activity, or actions or omissions that violate any of these Terms, to deny you access to the Site or to any portion thereof in order to protect its name and goodwill, its business, and/or other Users. These Terms will also terminate automatically if you fail to comply with any of them, subject to the survival rights of certain provisions identified below. Termination will be effective without notice. You may also terminate these Terms at any time by ceasing to use the Site, but all applicable provisions of these Terms will survive termination, as identified below. Sections 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 will survive the termination of these Terms for any reason.
12. WAIVER & SEVERABILITY.
Failure to insist on strict performance of any of the terms and conditions of these Terms will not operate as a waiver of any subsequent default or failure of performance. No waiver by CBI of any right under these Terms will be deemed to be either a waiver of any other right or provision or a wavier of that same right or provision at any other time. If any part of these Terms is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law or court order including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and the liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most clearly matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of these Terms shall continue in effect.
13. ENTIRE AGREEMENT.
These Terms has been made in and will be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia as applied to agreements entered into and completely performed in the District of Columbia. You are an independent contractor. No joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and CBI. These Terms and CBI’s Privacy Policy represent the entire agreement between you and CBI with respect to use of the Site, and they supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral, or written between you and CBI with respect to the Site. You may not assign or transfer any rights under these Terms without the prior written consent of CBI. Please note that CBI reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of these Terms and the terms and conditions under which the Site and its offerings are extended to you by posting a revised version of these Terms or mailing and/or emailing notice thereof to you. In addition, CBI may add, modify, or delete any aspect, program, or feature of the Site, but CBI is not under any obligation to add any upgrade, enhancement, modification. Your continued use of the Site following any announced change will be deemed acceptance of any change to the terms and conditions of these Terms. Accordingly, please review the Terms found at this location on a periodic basis.